A Story Untold
by KateShane
Summary: Regina Mills wakes up unaware of her surroundings, unaware of how she got there, the events of the previous night. And most importantly why Emma Swan is in the bed as well. Set around the time of 601. Swendgame.
1. Disorientation

**A/N: Couldn't sleep and got this idea. I don't own the characters.**

Chapter 1 - Disorientation

I wake up feeling very disoriented. Unsure of where I am or how I ended up here. The morning sunshine shining through the window is slightly blinding me causing my sight to be fuzzy. It takes a few seconds before my vision adjusts enabling me to view my surroundings. This is definitely not my bedroom. Although the bed is comfortable. The room seems familiar, but my half startled, partially still sleepy brain can't place it. Nonetheless I feel like I've been here before. I hear a sigh causing me to freeze. Previously unaware that I wasn't alone, I am now very aware that I'm without a doubt not in my own bedroom and I'm most definitely not alone. Carefully I turn around not knowing what to expect. At first I'm furious. What the hell is going on; I want to wake her up and demand that she explains to me what on earth I'm doing in her bed. I assume it's her bed anyway. Then I realise that if anything we're both fully clothed. Honestly can't believe I slept in my suit. It's too expensive for that. On the other hand since I can't remember how I got here I'm actually quite happy that I didn't wake up undressed. At the same time I can't help but feel a bit disappointed. Even though my initial reaction was anger, part of me feels soft, weak even, as she's laying there with her back to me. I realise that I've sat up, I look at my watch. 6:34. It's still early in the morning, no wonder she's still fast asleep. Once again I lay down next to her. Part of me still wanting to yell at her for bringing me into her bed without permission. The other part wants to wrap my arm around her and pull her in tight. No. Regina, pull yourself together. This is Emma Swan for crying out loud. Can't believe I'm in Emma Swan's bed. Another deep breath from the gorgeous blonde brings me back to reality. Terrified that she's waking up, how she's going to react. I mean, is she even aware of the current situation? Of course, she must be. People don't just end up in bed together without at least someone knowing how they got there. Either way I keep my eyes shut; there I lay pretending to be asleep as I suddenly became too afraid to face her worst possible reaction to me being in her bed. I lay as still as possible while I can feel her moving. Her arm lazily moves over me, her elbow joint ending up resting on my lower rib cage. She's not exactly holding me though, nonetheless her touch makes my heart skip a beat. Stupid thing, knew I should have stored it a better place than actually inside my body. Holding my breath I open my eyes. Hers are still shut, her mouth is open allowing her to take deep sleepy breaths. Unable to think clearly I can't do anything but just lay there and stare at her. Admiring how natural and beautiful she looks. Please don't ever let this moment go away. No. Let it. Let all of it disappear. Get out of the bed right now, out of the apartment, no questions asked, just get out. I can't. Her stupid face is so close to mine that I can almost feel her breath. Some of her hair falls down on her face and I can't resists tugging it behind her ear such that I can continue to admire her pretty face. Smiling to myself I realise that I suddenly feel nervous. It's irritating me, I have nothing to be nervous about, it's just the damn sheriff and I'm the bloody mayor for Christ's sake. Those naturally pink lips of hers seems so attention seeking in this moment, irresistible. Closing my eyes I take a deep breath to regain control of my suddenly attained lust. Keeping my eyes shut I focus on my breathing to ensure I stay distracted, to ensure that I stay in control of my own damn body.

'Regina?' I open my eyes at the sound of my name and a light shook of my shoulder; once again unaware of where I am, i must have fallen asleep again. Emma's blue eyes are starring at me, she's clearly worried about me.

'Where am I? How did I get here?' I manage to say while keeping my cool. 'You don't remember?' Emma looks even more worried. 'No? What happened?' 'Well..' Emma didn't manage to actually tell me what happened before we got interrupted.

'You're up? How are you feeling' Snow stands in the entrance to Emma's room. 'I'm fine. Now tell me what on earth is going on!' Chill Regina is gone. Well, for like a second before I felt a hand on my shoulder; Emma'a hand. Her touch sent chills down my entire body cause me to freeze for a tenth of a second. 'It's okay' she reassures me. I keep quiet, expecting her to be aware that I want her to explain every single detail of last night. She should know by now that I don't like not knowing something, not being in control of everything. I just sit there starring at her with my business mayor facial expression, silently waiting rather impatiently to be informed. Reality is that obviously I want to know what happened, but what I want more is to turn back time to before I apparently fell asleep again. Have a redo; take the chance and kiss her. No. Regina you need to focus now. I think I'm keeping a straight face. I sure as hell hope I am. 'We were out looking for people from the land of untold stories..' 'Yes I am aware of this, I was there' I interrupt the adorable blonde. 'And you got knocked out. Remember that?' 'No' I have a hard time believing that could actually happen. 'By who?' I'm curious and frustrated at the same time that I would allow someone to cause me losing my consciousness. 'Honestly, if we knew we would tell you' Snow claims while having an apologetic look on her face. 'You've got to be kidding me' of course the Charming must have been of a lot of help then. 'I found you unconscious in the woods and brought you here as I didn't know where else I should have taken you. I'm sure you would have killed me if I had brought you to the hospital' Emma explains as I make a sound of disbelief. 'I have some spare clothes you can borrow if you like, I mean, your suit got a bit dirty after you decided to roll around on the forest floor' Is she having a laugh? Someone knocked me out and left me lying around in the forest. I decide not to reply but instead just give her an unpleased look. 'We'll give you some time to recover, come down stairs when you're ready and get something to eat.' Emma says with her innocent smile as she makes a gesture to Snow that they should both leave.

Once I'm alone in Emma's room I dump my body down on her bed; burying my head in one of her pillows. I want to kill myself for how I feel. Really I feel terribly bad about the still very unknown events of last night; I feel even worse about wanting to know so desperately what it's like to kiss Emma Swan. Truly I cannot ever do so. It hasn't been too long since Robin was taken from me; with everything that's been going on I have barely had time to mourn. Even worse. There's the stupid Captain Guyliner. He's a tool. He has always been so and will remain that for all eternity. A poor excuse of a man who is far too easily bought by riches and his lust. As the Evil Queen I never regarded much of him; even less as my current position as mayor. He's useless here, at least in the Enchanted Forest I could take advantage of how easily he was persuaded and the fact that he wasn't exactly one of the good guys. Obviously I'm aware that I'm not one to talk. I've done unspeakable things, mainly as the Evil Queen, but even in Storybrooke there have been acts that I'm less proud of. Nonetheless I've been open and honest about my mistakes. Emma knows everything that's worth knowing about me. She's aware that I'm not perfect but I'm trying my hardest to redeem myself and finally achieve my happy ending I've sought after for so long. Could she be it? No. No, no no. Definitely not. She's happy with Hook. I mean, I think she is anyway. Does he deserve her? Honestly no way that he ever would. She's too good for him. She could do so much better; she should. Would she be better off with me? Why am I even thinking these thoughts. Who am I to ruin her happy ending with him? All of this is my own bloody fault. Seeking vengeance for the mistakes of a child. Letting this ruin not only my own life or her life, but the lives of pretty much everyone in the Enchanted Forest. I don't deserve a happy ending; I ruined that for myself a long time ago. Therefore now it's time to make the best out of whatever time I had left. I need to pull myself together, get over this school girl crush on the saviour. Oh how I wish she could save me from myself. Seriously Regina stop yourself. Things are finally starting to look brighter. If anything do it for Henry. He's the one deserving a happy ending most out of everyone in Storybrooke. He's my son and thus it's my responsibility to ensure he gets his best chance. I finally truly understand how Emma was able to give him up for adoption all these years ago; the importance of unselfish sacrifices. This is what I have to do now myself. I already sacrificed the Evil Queen, although it's really hard to believe she's gone for good. Now it's time I let go of my feelings for Miss Swan. Either way I want to let her have her best chance; after everything she's been through she also deserves her happy ending, she deserves her best shot at it. Despite her being a saviour. Despite saviours never ever getting their happy endings. It's about time to change things. No matter what, I'll do my best to aid her reach true happiness. But first, I seriously need to pull myself together, focus and get my act straight. Taking another deep breath I stand up and look at myself in the mirror. Oh dear mirror, bringing back memories of a very different time. Distractions, Regina. Stop procrastinating. I'm a mess. My makeup is slightly smeared from when I was asleep. I try my best to wipe off the excess makeup and correct what remains, keeping it casual. Should I? I mean, should I not make it seductive to impress her. Nope. I've been over this in my head so many times before. I've been fighting this since the day Henry went to Boston and found her. Since the first time I laid eyes on her. Impressing her is not the way to go. I missed my chance for that. Seriously can't believe I lost the competition to a pirate wearing more makeup than me. I sigh. My fingers run through my hair putting it back into place as much as possible. The time has come. I need to stop digressing and get my attention back to figuring out who the hell dared knock me out. I start to walk down the stairs not entirely sure I'm ready to face her without losing my focus again. At the same time I have a desperate need to figure out what's happening in my town.


	2. Reminders

**A/N** Guys, thank you so much for reading! :) This is my first fic that I've written, so I wasn't really sure what to expect.

Chapter 2 - Reminders

'Mum!' Henry is squeezing me tight as I enter the kitchen area. Emma is sitting there around the dinner table with both of her parents. They all stare at me, patiently anticipating me to speak. Truth is I'm not sure what to say. Hell, did I rip out my confidence together with my evil half? 'So...?' Emma looks at me, expecting me to share my glorious plan. I'm blank. 'So..?' I repeat back to her, giving me a brief moment to come up with something brilliant to say. Especially since the word so isn't exactly that.  
'Honestly I don't know' when did I become an honest person to the Charmings while at the same time showing weakness? I feel a bit pathetic unable to come up with anything. In that second I realise there's a chance I might be missing her. The Evil Queen. No. I don't need her. I'm perfectly capable of being confident as Regina; I can come up with a plan to figure all of this mess out.  
'You still can't remember anything?' Snow dares to ask. 'No' I state in a softer tone as I exhale. 'What if we use a dream catcher?' 'Emma!?' I'm sure she knew suggesting this would bring back reminders of what was during her time as the Dark One. Nonetheless it might be worth a shot since it's quite possible something happened that caused me to lose my memories of last night. Snow, David and Henry all kept quiet while looking at me, all of them aware that this should be my decision to make. 'Let's try then' I give in to her suggestion. The most probable thing is however that I would likely have agreed to anything Emma would have suggested by now. 'I need to make a new one first though since you all decided to destroy all my other ones' 'Hmpf, and how long do you expect that would take you?' Of course I didn't mean to snap at Emma, but my impatience have started to take over. 'Geez, I understand you're a bit frustrated right now, Regina. You can't really rush it as it's an art' the so-called saviour claims with a smile. I take another deep breath. How is this woman capable of making me even more frustrated while at the same time making me feel like a weak fluff ball desperate to just bury myself in her arms? I roll my eyes at that though, the expressing on Emma's face clearly indicates that she assumed it was my reaction to her statement. Poor Swan, if only she knew, but she never can. 'I have a better idea, we go get one from my vault.' 'You have dream catchers in your vault? What are you up to now?' 'What do you mean what am I up to? I put them there such that they would be out of your reach, Swan!' I swear this woman is going to be my undoing after all. 'Anyway, what are we waiting for then? Let's go.' Snow interrupts. Emma sighs as if she realises there will be no point starting an argument with me. Thank god for that, I'm really not in the mood to fight with her; the truth is that if we did I could probably really hurt her with the current state of mind I'm in. Quite possibly her presence is what's keeping me this calm, who knows what I could have done if she wasn't here to stop me from being me. I nod towards Snow and make a then let's go gesture.

We don't manage to make it there before the sheriffs are phoned up telling them an unexpected issue have arisen. Therefore we instead heads towards the town line. Seriously, what have these people done to my town this time. Arriving at the town line is quickly becomes apparent that someone have cast a spell to prevent anyone from leaving Storybrooke. Not just any spell, the exact same spell I used during the first curse. Even further puzzled I look towards Emma, who seems just as surprised. I'm sure my faces shows how unimpressed I am right now. Truth is, figuring out who cast the spell isn't hard. Everything needed to perform it was supposed to be in my vault which should have been sealed by blood magic. In other words, since I sure as hell didn't cast the spell there is only one other option. Zelena. Well, I mean, at least I don't remember casting the spell and why would I have anyway? Just in that moment my oh so wicked sister poofs into the scene in a veil of green smoke. 'What did you do?!' My chill is gone as I storm towards my sister. 'What do you mean, what did I do? What happened?' She looks genuinely surprised of my accusation. 'Well, someone used stuff from my vault, and it obviously wasn't me!' 'Oh, so I'm the first person you suspect?' Her tone starting to become agitated. 'It was sealed with blood magic!' As I exhale I realise I've started to raise my voice as well, perfectly explaining Zelena's response. 'Well!' She pauses for a brief second. 'Maybe someone found a way in anyway, but it sure as hell wasn't me!' And by that she disappears in a similar green smoke screen as she had arrived in moments before. I know that I shouldn't be too hard on her, after all we're just starting to build a trust and proper sister bond between us. Making these kinds of accusations won't help in anyway, but what other possible explanation could there be? Both of my parents are gone. Zelena is my only living biological relative capable of opening the vault. Her daughter is a baby after all. And my son; Henry, being adopted and all he doesn't share my DNA. Could it be Mr. Gold causing all this trouble? I wouldn't be surprised, though I'm not aware of how he could have opened my vault. Possibly Mr. Hyde? No, he's an evil prick, but he doesn't know magic, right? I'm blank once again, causing my frustration of not knowing what's going on to grow even more. 'Regina?' 'Huh?' I turn around to find Emma standing way too close to me with a look screaming how worried she is about me. 'Sorry, I think I zoned out for a moment. We need to get to the bottom of this. Fast.' I regain my cool and indicate to the Charmings that we should get back to work.

On our way back to the Charmings apartment we go by my vault and to pick up a dream catcher. I have a brief look around to ensure nothing else have been taken. Leaving the vault I reseal it, once again with blood magic. The walk back to the apartment is very silent. All of us are trying to individually make sense of the events that have taken place. When we came back from the land of untold stories we must have brought so much chaos with us, unintentionally of course. Really it's all Hyde's doing. A gist of the Evil Queen I used to be wishes we had killed him back in his land instead of being heroes and do the clearly right thing. The Regina is cursing myself for thinking what the Evil Queen would have done. She's gone and it's for this exact reason; such that Regina can have her best chance for making up for past mistakes, change my life around and become a mother Henry can be proud of. I guess this means that in that sense I'm in competition with Swan seeing as she is his biological mother after all. Nonsense. I'm just as much his mother as she is, if not more so; I raised him nonetheless. Who am I kidding though? Emma Swan has been my competition ever since she was conceived. Unfortunately this is not what I want anymore. She is my friend, not only that she's family and truthfully the only person except for Henry who feels like home. Emma Swan is not my enemy. She was the Evil Queen's enemy, but I took care of that. To be fair, crushing the Queens heart was not an easy thing to do. I felt like I was committing suicide. I cannot really blame Zelena for hating me for getting rid of the evil side of me, we have basically nothing in common now. However, to ever be able to be with Emma I needed to get rid of her, right? I made the right choice, there's no discussing it and there sure as hell is no going back. What I need to do right now is to focus on the current situation at hand and leave the past in the past as time travel have proven to be a horrible stupid thing to do anyway. Still, I can't wrap my head around what could have happened; can't think of anyone who could have done this. I look at Emma to my right. She seems concerned too. I want to grab her hand, reassure her that we're going to figure out what the hell is going on and that everything is going to be okay. She looks at me and gives me a weak smile. My heart beat increases as I smile back at her. I feel a slight pain as part of me seems to think something different is up with her as well. Maybe its Hook? There could be trouble in paradise. I'm partially hoping that's it, wanting to promise her that no matter what happens with Captain Guyliner I'll be there as a shoulder to cry on when it all goes the rest of the way down the hill.

I feel relieved when we reach the Charmings' apartment. Back in the kitchen I sit down impatiently for Emma to finally work her magic and recollect my memories of last night. The dream catcher shows me waking through the forest, suddenly I fall to the ground and that was it. 'Really? That's it?' I almost yell in disbelief. 'How could I not have seen who caused me to.. faint? Did I faint?' 'Maybe no one is responsible after all?' David tried to be positive. 'I doubt. Why would I faint? No something got to have caused it.' I honestly don't care at this moment what any of them will tell me. I don't faint, I wasn't feeling dizzy or anything like that; I've never passed out before in my life without there being a cause that wasn't the result of someone else's tricks. 'I'm sorry, Regina.' I have no doubt that Emma means it. Seeing this apologetic expression on her face is heart breaking. Whatever happened in the forest is not her fault. Neither is the fact that the unknown pisses me off. My gorgeous sheriff have nothing to be sorry for. I manage to bring a smile to my lips. Only for her. It's most likely that the majority of other people would have received a fire ball politely letting them know to get lost. Not her; I have no wish for her to go anywhere. My thoughts gets interrupted by a knock on the door. Snow opens it to let in Hook. 'Swan! Are you alright love?' 'Yeah.' Emma replies with a smile. Unable to deal with Guyliner I storm past him out of the apartment. 'Regina?!' I hear Emma call after me. Unable to turn around I walk to my car, all I want is to get as far away from all these happy couples. Literally even Henry has a girlfriend. Despite never having had much luck with love I'm kind of upset that I'm the only one here without anyone to hold me tight when the entire world sucks. Especially considering how much it sucks right now. Emma deserves to be happy, that's all I want. I don't even care if I'm the cause of that happiness, just let her be happy. Nonetheless I wish so badly that I had someone who would make me that happy too.

I arrive at my mansion not too long after. Having parked my car in the drive way I throw my keys on the kitchen counter once I get inside. Walking straight upstairs to the bathroom, knowing that Henry is still with the Charmings and I therefore have the house all to myself I get undressed as I walk up the stairs. Hopefully a long hot shower will do me good right now.  
I wrap my wet hair in a towel and climb into a comfortable pair of pjs. My head hurts from the long day I've had and my frustration haven't exactly helped or been decreased. There seems to be nothing of interest showing in the tv so I just leave it on a random channel that's showing a movie that seems just a bit interesting. Time flies quickly despite my boredom. Usually I would have been worried about Henry's whereabouts but right now I'm certain he'll spend the night with his other mother and her pathetic excuse of a boyfriend. Lost in thoughts I get a bit of a shock when I hear the doorbell go off. I glance at my watch. 22:34. A tad bit late for social calls. Opening my door not knowing who to expect, I'm surprised to see who's actually at the door.


	3. Meetings

**A/N:** Hey guys, sorry about the wait for the update. Life sort of just happened. Hope you enjoy :)

Chapter 3 - Meetings

'Miss Swan!' Oh dear Emma how I want to hug you.  
'Geez, back to Miss Swan? Did I do something wrong?' Yes. You started dating a dirty pirate.  
'No, sorry I just wasn't expecting visitors at this time of night. Come in.' I step aside allowing her to enter my home. She takes off her signature red leather jacket and hangs it up on the coat rack. We walk to the living room where I offer her anything to drink. Sure that's a good idea, Regina, let's get her drunk. Emma accepts a beer and I pour a glass of red wine for myself. Sitting down on the couch she looks thoughtful. Naturally I find this adorable and irresistible. We sit down for I don't even know how long, at least a couple of glasses/bottles.  
'I hope you know that I'm willing to do everything to help you figure all this out.' She claims while looking at me with a serious facial expression. 'You can say that you're fine all you want, but remember that I know you Regina. I know when you're lying. You got upset earlier, was it because of Killian?' I can't look her in the eyes right now, afraid I might give in and declare my love for her; damn it Swan, I love you but you're too busy with him to see it. Of course he was the reason I got upset at your parents apartment. I say nothing though, instead I look away while trying to keep my breathing under control. 'You can tell me.' My eyes meet hers once again and I can tell she's concerned. 'Look, really I understand if you don't approve, but just at least just talk to me. Regina, please. Say something.' The way she says my name makes me feel weak.  
Tears start to run down my face as my walls crumble down. All I can do is just sit there and let my emotions take over, I don't know what to say. I know what I want to say, well aware that I can't. In this moment I feel horribly pathetic. Suddenly I feel her arms around me as she pulls me into her warm and comfortable embrace. Leaning my head against her neck makes me cry even harder, louder. Her grip tightens; it feels like my heart has stopped. She's so close. Too close to be resisted. I somehow manage to take a deep breath and pull back from her; just enough that she's still holding me but I can see her face. She gives me a smile of reassurance.  
'It's not fair.' My words sounds almost too cold. 'You all got your happy endings, well, at least you always have someone to share your time with.'  
'So do you.'  
'Who?'  
'You've got Henry, surprisingly my parents are on your side now, despite the amount of times you've tried to kill them. You've got me. We're family, whether you like it or not.'  
'That's not what I mean.'  
'I know. I also know that you still need time to mourn Robin. Don't worry, the right guy will come along when you least expect it.' Deep breath, Regina, allow yourself a moment to think about how to respond.  
'Honestly, Emma. I think I'm done with men for now.' I say as calmly as I can.  
'Yeah? Well, we'll find you a woman then.' She states with an encouraging smile on her face. 'Do you have anyone in mind?' That is a very dreaded question I would love to scream the answer to, while at the same time wishing I had kept my big mouth shut.  
'Uhm.. It's complicated.'  
'It usually is, and I'm not really surprised you said that. Truth is I know you're the kind of person who says what she thinks most of the time. So, if she was readily available I'm sure you would have been with her now.' Really, Swan? This isn't exactly helping.  
'Yeah.'  
'I'm curious who she is though.' She winks at me and I feel like burying myself somewhere and never come back out. 'It doesn't matter, she's with someone else. She seems happy.'  
'That doesn't mean she is. Looks can deceive.'  
'You tell me.' 'What's that supposed to mean?'  
'Nothing.' I lie and look away. Her hand grabs my chin forcing me to look at her. Frozen by my sudden nervousness I cannot do anything than just stare into her beautiful blue eyes. I suddenly feel the alcohol a lot; not trusting myself in this drunken state, my instinct tells me to magic myself away from here. Where to though? I'm already in my house after all. Instead I stay still. Why is she just staring at me? Swan say something. She doesn't. However she leans slightly forward. She stops mere inches away from my face, she really shouldn't be this close to me, especially when I'm this drunk.  
'Everything will be okay.' She says with a straight face being all serious and all. I'm panicking. I hate my body for moving in the wrong direction. My hand grabs hold of her cheek bone and pulls her the rest of the way. It's not true that I hate my body, her lips are so soft. She can be so pissed at me, in this moment of time I don't even care if she'll never speak to me again because this kiss is completely worth it. Wait. Is she actually kissing me back? We break apart. She looks at me and I cannot for the life of me read her face. Next thing I know is that she pushes me back such that I lean agains the couch and she climbs on top of me and presses her lips against mine once again. This whole experience is more surreal than anything else that has been going on the past couple of days. Her tongue slips into my mouth as I wrap my arms around her back, pulling her closer. It's impossible to describe just how much I want her; never wanting to let go of this moment. If I could freeze time and keep replaying these minutes for all eternity.  
Emma pulls back.  
'Regina, we can't..' she starts.  
'I know.' On the verge of tears I really wish I had somewhere to poof myself off to.  
'Fuck.' She states and climbs off me. Emma is now standing up looking as if she is unsure what to do with herself.  
'I'm sorry, Emma.'  
'No, don't be. I messed up. Honestly, I never thought I had a chance with you. Really since the day Henry brought me to Storybrooke I wanted to rip the clothes of you. Despite you trying to get rid of me and the countless amounts of times you've tried to kill my parents. I couldn't help being attracted to you. But I'm with Hook now. And after everything we've been through he deserves that I give it a try.'  
'No, Emma. He really does not. True you have been through a lot, but the majority of that have been seriously bad things. You might be able to tell when I'm lying, but I can tell that you don't trust him. Not truly, and truth is that he doesn't trust you completely either. Your entire relationship is founded upon lies and deceit. At least the two of us have always been pretty much completely honest, if anything we have always come clean in the end.'  
'That's not true! I DO trust him. And I love him. You're just being jealous and drunk right now.' My words clearly upset her and knowing I was right, knowing that deep inside she knows too, I do nothing as I watch her storm out of the living room. Seconds later I hear the front door slam. I tilt my head back, take a deep breath and allow my tears to finally flow.

The next morning, I have a slight feeling of being hung over. Why did I continue to drink after Emma had left? Looking into the mirror I manage to make myself presentable, it will have to do. The weekly town meeting is in half an hour and right now that's the last place I want to go. It's not because the meetings are boring, they definitely can be, but I'm not ready to face Miss Swan so soon after what took place last night.

At the town hall I notice that I'm the last to arrive. This is very new to me, especially since Emma is always late. We all have a seat in the meeting room. I do my usual introduction speech, trying to be motivational and supportive and all that heroic stuff. During my speech I partially struggle to keep my focus with her sitting there across the table from me. Frighteningly close, but at the same time oh so far away. Her presence is causing an unwanted nervousness. I'm not aware of how much she remembers, if she remembers anything at all. Both of us had had a fair share of alcohol, so if the odds are in my favour she probably has no idea what happened last night. However, I don't know who I'm trying to kid, the odds are rarely ever in my favour. I finish off my speech and pass the word to Snow. There is no doubt that creating hope is her expertise, so I'm confident in leaving it to her and thereby giving the Charmings control of the decision making; for now anyway. Truth is I'm too distracted to really care right now about what is going on. It's as if I can still feel her breath on my skin which causes my stomach to knot up. This I do not at all regard as a pleasant feeling or state to be in. It's funny how one moment can change everything that matters. Yesterday my main priority was to figure out what have been happening around town lately with the introduction of the people from the land of untold stories. Today, all that I care about is to find out how Emma is feeling right now. Through Snow's speech all I can do is sit deep in my own thoughts; secretly I'm horrified of the consequences of my actions. I'm scared of getting hurt again if I get my hopes up, I therefore decide that it is best to anticipate the worst case scenario.  
Looking down at the table I pretend to take notes, if anything it is to try and distract myself. I look up to find Emma staring at me. Keeping eye contact with her for a couple of seconds I'm not sure what to put into this. Is the saviour mad at me? Does she want an encore? Probably not. Maybe she really can't remember and is confused as to what happened when she went to my mansion. I send her a tiny smile and as a response she looks away. I cannot describe the slight disappointment this makes me feel. All I want to do is stand up and run over to her to hold her tight and tell her how sorry I am and how much she really truly does mean to me, obviously I don't actually do this because of my fear of worsening the entire situation.  
The meeting drags out for what feels like an eternity. Luckily I don't think anyone suspects that anything has happened between me and Emma. In reality, last night might not have had any effect at all. It can be brushed off as a drunken mistake and then never spoken of again. Hell, the kind of man that Hook is, or at least used to be, might even be happy about it and suggest further experimentation, involving him of course. This thought makes me want to throw up. Never ever will I consider doing anything intimate with that filthy pirate; nor do I understand why Emma has any interest in being with him in any possible way.  
Suddenly everyone stands up and I realise the meeting is over. We all gather our things to each go our separate ways to do whatever they must have agreed upon doing this meeting where I clearly haven't been paying attention. It doesn't matter though, I'm perfectly capable of performing investigations on my own.  
In the hallway I take a deep breath, 'Emma!'. I feel like it will be the best thing to talk things through sooner rather than later. She stops and turns to look at me. 'May I have a moment with you?' I look around, noticing Hook staring at me. 'Alone?'.  
'Sure.' She says and makes a gesture that she's going to follow me into my office. Hook stays behind in the hallway with a puzzled look upon his face.


	4. Weakness

**A/N** Once again thank you so much for reading! :) and thank you Kat for being my lovely beta at the moment.

Chapter 4 - Weakness

My heart is beating so fast I feel like it could literally jump out of my chest at any moment now. I enter my office at the town hall and Emma follows right behind me. The sound of the door shutting behind her makes my heart skip a beat.

'Emma' I start.

'Regina, we can't.' She interrupts me. 'What happened last night, it can't happen again. It will probably be for the best if we never mention it again, if we never tell anyone about it.' I'm split between being happy about her wanting to leave my screw up in the past and the pain that is knowing I wasted my one chance with her, and that I'll never be able to be that close to her again.

'You're right. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry.' I really am sorry, but I don't believe she is right. However, I know that lying to her won't work due to her so called superpowers. Emma has always been able to see right through me; I have no doubt that this moment is any different, though, I think she lets it slide because she wants this over with such that she can go back to her normal life with Hook.

'Look, Regina, I'm okay with you being into women. Honestly, you can date whoever you please. However, I'm not an option, I just wanted to make that clear.'

'Understood.' I'm currently trying my hardest to seem okay with everything and not burst out crying over how much it hurts that she once again chooses that idiot over me. I should have admitted my feelings long ago. Neverland was probably my last real chance of actually having a shot, before Hook made his move. Ever since then any feelings have been a lost cause. Emma takes a step closer and grabs my chin. Swan you're really not helping. The look in her eyes is the most adorable ever and my urge to kiss her is strong.

'You will be okay. You're one of the strongest people I know. I promise you that someday, hopefully soon, someone will come along, man or woman, and they will give you your happy ending you truly do deserve. I also promise you that I will do everything to help you achieve just that; your happy ending.' Damn it, Swan, you really are Snow White's daughter; heroic and all.

'Thank you.' She smiles at me and pulls me into her embrace. I allow myself to take the opportunity to pull her tight. Our hug feels like an eternity and is only broken when we are disturbed by a knock on the door. Still standing close and partially holding each other Hook peaks in, can I just punch him already? How dares he ruin my hopefully not last intimate moment with Emma?

'So... There's something I think the two of you would like to see.' His voice annoys me; I can't even begin to describe how much. Emma looks at me, waiting for my approval that everything will be okay and that we should go have a look at what Hook wants us to see.

The entire day had been spent following leads and gathering information about the people from the land of untold stories. Overall we haven't really gotten much further in our investigation at this point. In all honesty, we are still fairly clueless as to who could have opened my vault and why anyone would have cast a spell to keep everyone within Storybrooke. I'm back home at my mansion all by myself. Henry is spending the night at the Emma's; I'm really just happy that Hook doesn't live there. I'm about to go change into my PJs when my phone starts ringing. Henry wants me to come to Emma's. Great. Obviously I can't say no to Henry and he naturally doesn't know what I did to his other mother last night. Seriously, Regina, when did you start becoming so pathetic? Fine, the woman you so desperately want doesn't want you. So what? I'm not aware when this has ever stopped me in the past. It sure as hell wouldn't have stopped the Evil Queen, so why should it stop me when I'm just Regina? Surely not because I'm "just Regina". The Evil Queen might not be a physical part of me anymore, but that doesn't change the fact that I created her. Well, I had some help from people like Rumpelstiltskin. Nonetheless, she was just as much me as Regina Mills, mayor of Storybrooke is. I cannot let fear turn me weak. Love is weakness. This is the lesson that my mother so cold heartedly once upon a time taught me. Has loving Emma made me weak? No. Love isn't weakness. I love Emma. I love Henry. I'm not weak because of this love; if I'm weak for any reasons it's because I was raised on the mentality that said love can be considered weakness. In reality it is strength. Growing up I never had anyone to have my back no matter the cost. I never dared to believe anyone would ever have my back. Emma proved me wrong. She saved my life; she is the reason I haven't broken down completely to the point of no return. Emma proved to me by sacrificing herself that love is not weakness. Therefore, I need to pull myself together and suck it up and go over to the Swan house and face her. Even if she doesn't want me I need to take this as an opportunity to grow, no matter how much it hurts. I managed to move on from Daniel; and here Emma is, basically telling me to find someone else to love, just like Daniel told me to love again. And I do. I love Emma Swan.

Henry takes us through everything he has thought of so far. Possible villains, possible other explanations and theories about what's been going on. Both of us sit patiently down with him and listen to him theorise for a couple of hours with the occasional feedback or comment. He takes us through the fact that he knows this won't change the outcome of us getting our happy endings. I appreciate that Hook is barely even mentioned, and when he is Emma looks like she feels slightly uncomfortable. Eventually we decide that it's definitely his bedtime, if not ours as well. It has gotten dark outside and is now last midnight. I think that I should be getting home soon.

'Stay.' Emma surprises me when I make sign to leave. 'It's late, and you're tired. You can stay in the guest room if you like.' Of course the offer is for the guest room. For a tenth of a second it crossed my mind that she was offering me to stay in her bed. Keep dreaming Regina, she already told you off once today; twice in the past two days. It's probably best to avoid any further rejection.

'Thank you. Are you sure you will be okay with that?'

'Of course. Otherwise I wouldn't have suggested it. You're my friend and I care about you. I'm sure if you had told me that five years ago I wouldn't have believed it, and neither would you, but it doesn't change the fact that you're like family to me by now. You're always welcome.' Her smile indicates that she really means her words. I smile back at her.

'Thank you, I really appreciate it, Emma.'

'Always, Regina.' Her genuine smile warms my heart. I really wish that I could stay here forever, just me, Emma and Henry. No sign of Hook anywhere. That would be ideal, unrealistic, but ideal. Emma shows me to her guest room and for some reason decided that it was a good idea to hug me goodnight. Standing in her arms I have no intention of ever letting go. The smell of her perfume is enchanting. Not just that, she's so warm and soft; she feels like home. I don't think I've ever felt safer than I do right now in her embrace.

'Fuck it.' Emma states still holding me tight.

'I'm sorry?' Fuck what Emma? Me? Sure, why not.

'I'm not breaking up with Hook, but I after everything that has been going on lately I would really appreciate if you'd hold me tonight. Nothing else though. Is that clear?' Surprised by her surrender, I give her a slight nod to indicate I understand what she wants. Unable to resist I let her drag me to her bedroom, keeping in mind how badly I could get hurt from this. Regina, this is not a good idea.

'I don't have anything to sleep in.' I state when entering Emma's bedroom. The saviour just looks me up and down, teasing me; this isn't fair, it's as if she is torturing me on purpose to punish me.

'I'll get you a tank top to sleep in.' She replies in a too casual tone.

'Thank you.' I really don't know what else to say, desperately trying to hide any disappointment. Emma goes to her closet and have a look through it. She then proceeds to throw a light blue tank top at me. I have no issue getting changed in front of her, after all, I have no issues with my body. However, Emma might not feel the same way, especially since I basically just confessed my desire for her yesterday. During my hesitation of what to do I notice that Emma has started to undress herself. The shock of her voluntarily changing in front of me paralyses for a second before I realise that I should probably look away. I turn away maybe a bit too fast causing Emma to laugh.

'Regina, it's okay. You can look at me, I have no issue with that. We're both grown women.' Her smile is gorgeous.

'I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable.' For some odd reason her half exposed body have made me a bit shy and I feel slightly awkward looking at her. She is perfect.

'Really, it's okay.' Her smile calms me down. We then get changed in silence. I sincerely try my hardest not to look at her, partly out of respect for her, partly because I know I'll never be able to forget her beauty. When climbing into her bed, I'm really careful how to approach this sharing a bed but intimacy is off the table. She said that she wanted me to hold her; but how? There are several ways one can hold another person while they're sleeping, all of which can be considered intimate. Especially since Emma only provided a top and no bottoms to sleep in. I lay down under her double duvet and look at her. She crawls down and joins me, she lays down next to me and rest her head by me neck. Her right arm is wrapped around my stomach. I place my right arm around her upper back, resting my hand on her shoulder. My left arm I allow to hold her tight into be by pulling her closer by her lower back. I rest my chin against her forehead. Truthfully, I wish I could get the chance to have her this close every night. This feeling I'm feeling right now is so peaceful, so satisfying. If I could have everything I ever wanted, I would want to stay in this moment forever. This is even better than how I felt yesterday morning waking up in this exact bed. It's so much better knowingly go to sleep here; not only that, Emma is here voluntarily too, in fact it was by her request. Emma Swan asked me to spend the night in her bed with her. That sounds absolutely ridiculous and unrealistic. Had anyone told me this would happen just a few days ago I would have laughed at them, and obviously denied any feelings for the blonde sheriff now squeezing me very tight.

'Regina? Are you sleeping?'

'No.'

'I need you to promise me not to tell anyone about this.' She says without moving an inch. 'Especially Hook' Thank you for the reminder of your so-called boyfriend.

'I promise.' In this moment I really don't care what her conditions are, as long as she isn't cutting the time she spends in my arms short by as much as a second. In any case, all I can do right now is really just enjoying this experience she for some reason has allowed me.

'Thank you.' She says and kisses my cheek. 'Goodnight.'

'Goodnight, Emma, sleep tight.' You little irresistible princess.


	5. Escalation

**A/N** thank you so much for reading, following and reviewing! I really appreciate it. :)

Chapter 5 - Escalation

I wake up by the sound of the doorbell going off. Shit is it that late already? Then I realise that I'm still in her arms. Fuck. They're going to ask questions for sure, my parents can be so nosy sometimes. Obviously I know that they just mean me the best; however, I don't think they will appreciate finding me in bed with Regina. Even worse, they will encourage me to tell Hook, because honesty and all. I can't describe why though, I have such a hard time being honest with him. To be fair though, I am aware that the entire foundation of our relationship is lies. I think I trust him. Nonetheless I know Regina was right the other day about him. She had every right to be mad at me for choosing him over her. She has absolutely done a lot of bad thing, so has Hook, but she truly has been trying to redeem herself. Henry loves Regina, and he forgave her for everything. But this doesn't change the fact that she's a woman. What I'm doing is not fair to her. Regina loves me, she's in love with me even. I really shouldn't be teasing her like this. Laying here with her, it feels so wrong, yet completely right. She's so much softer than Hook, so much more warm and comfortable. The doorbell goes off again. Seriously, be patient. I don't want to leave Regina. It keeps ringing now, Regina is starting to wake up. Fine, I'll come down and open the damn door, just give me another minute.

'Coming!' I yell as I run down the stairs.

'Good morning, Emma. I hope we didn't disturb you.' Uhh mom, if only you knew. I step aside to allow my parents entry. They go into the kitchen knowing that they're going to make us breakfast. They also know that I don't really have much food around and they have therefore brought something with them. I really appreciate their effort and help. It's not that I'm lazy and incapable of making my own breakfast, it's more because of how busy I usually am and they like catching up with lost time. Though I'm not sure how to break it to them that the reason behind that lost time is currently half naked in my bed upstairs.

'I take it that Hook is here, considering that you were still in bed and that you're not exactly dressed right now.' It really doesn't take much effort to hear the dissatisfaction in my fathers voice.

'No, he's not. I just forgot to set an alarm. Well, really I didn't think it would be necessary since I knew you guys would come to wake me up.' I say, kind of happy with the pleased smile on my fathers face. 'Let me get some clothes, you guys can go get started and then I'll join you ASAP.' My parents walk to the kitchen and I walk back upstairs to wake Regina. When I get to my room she's already up and dressed; in fact, she's perfect. I don't know how she did it, but she's wearing a different outfit than she was wearing yesterday and her hair and makeup is done. Well, I assume she must have used magic.

'I'm gonna go.' She states in a business like manner. 'I'll magic myself away, that way no one will know that I spent the night here. I'm sure that's what you would prefer.' No you stupid I want you to stay, you're family so you should have breakfast with the rest of us. Screw explaining why you're here.

'Okay.' I don't want to seem disappointed that she's leaving already. 'I'll see you later?'

'I hope so, Miss Swan. After all we have another meeting this afternoon that you're expected to attend. And as the sheriff you also have quite a decent amount of outstanding paperwork.' Her tone of voice suddenly got very strict; it got very hot.

'Back to Miss Swan? Really, Regina? I'll be there. And I'll.. I'll get it done. At some point.'

'Good. And don't be late.' And with that she poof'ed herself away. I partly feel that I crossed the boundary last night by not only asking her to stay, but to stay with me. All the professionalism she just displayed is a defence mechanism; I have a feeling that I hurt her. I feel absolutely horrible for taking advantage of her feelings. Despite everything that she has been through, she still deserves better than what I have been doing to her lately. I really wish that I could be the reason for her happy ending, but I don't think I can. I have Hook and he is my happy ending, right? He is my chance for having a normal life; the ideal life. The life that is expected of me to lead. Had we been in the Enchanted Forest I would have been the heir to my mother's kingdom. It's my duty to carry on her legacy as her daughter and the saviour. I wouldn't have been able to do this with Regina. Regina is without a doubt a queen; but she will never be my queen. If I married her and I were to become queen myself, what would that make her? One wouldn't be able to reduce her to a simple princess; she will always be a queen. On the other hand though, Hook wouldn't be king either, even if I married him. Because I'm the heir and not him, he would be the prince regal, he wouldn't be entitled to the title of king. I honestly don't think he will be worthy. Nonetheless, I'm not sure I'm worthy of the title of queen either. Therefore, I guess it's a good thing we're still in Storybrooke and not the Enchanted Forrest.

Breakfast with my parents went really well, especially since Hook wasn't there meaning they had nothing to complain about. The day goes by so slowly. I'm spending the majority of the morning doing Regina's stupid paperwork. Truth is I would love for her to come here and punish me for not getting it done. Emma, control yourself. You've been over this so many times by now. Regina is absolutely sexy and amazing and more, but she is not supposed to be your happy ending. Hook is.

'Hey, Love, are you ready to go for lunch?' Killian enters my office at the sheriff station.

'Give me 5 minutes, I just need to finish this off before Regina murders me.' I say while hurrying up filling in the last sheet of paperwork.

We walk together to Granny's, his arm is around my shoulder. I slightly lean my head against his shoulder as we're walking. Unable to admit to myself why, I have a bad feeling in my stomach. In reality what it is, is that it feels wrong being with Hook all of a sudden. This is all my fault. I allowed Regina to kiss me. I was the one that insisted she would stay the night in my bed. I can't help but wish that Regina was the one with her arm around me. These feelings are frustrating me. I shouldn't feel this way about Regina of all people. That woman has tried to kill me and my family more times than I can count. I shouldn't have any reason to this desperately want to be the cause of there happiness.

'What's wrong, Swan?'

'Nothing, it's just been a long boring morning.' Lies. Yet even more lies into this thing we pretend is a good relationship. I've lied to Hook so many times by now, just as he has to me. It's really a wonder that we trust each other. I mean, we do trust each other, right? Well, in that case I really should tell him about what's been going on with Regina. I just don't want to risk hurting him; risk losing him. I'm finally in a place that seems good, I cannot let go of that. What if I did decide to choose Regina over him and then that doesn't work out? If that happens I'll have lost everything. Henry will become a proper divorce kid; he doesn't deserve to see his mothers fight anymore. There have without a doubt been too much of that in the past as it is. I'm afraid I will let them down, Regina and Henry; and what about my parents? They barely approve of Hook. Regina is after all Regina. They have an even stronger opinion about her than Hook; although, they know how she has changed, how she truly is trying to be good. I, however, can't begin to imagine how they would feel about their daughter entering a same sex relationship. As things are already, I'm so far from the daughter they had expected I would become. Dating another woman really shouldn't make thing much worse, if at all.

'You sure? You seem a bit distressed.' I'm not sure if he's really concerned or just pretending to care; should I see this as a bad sign?

'Really, I'm fine.' I don't have the energy to explaining; possibly having an argument if he knew the truth. Shit. It's so bad. I should tell him everything; come clean here and now and replace the foundation of our relationship with a base of mutual trust and respect. He gives me a look of disbelief but doesn't try any harder to get me to open up. I'm relieved.

We walk the rest of the way in silence and enter Granny's not long after. Sitting down in one of the booths Ruby comes over and takes our order. The silence between us is unbearable and awkward. I'm sure he's aware that something is wrong, but he also knows that I won't want to talk about it until I'm ready to do so.

He tries to make small talk, which isn't really his strong side and therefore fails badly at doing so. This isn't really making the awkwardness go away. Ruby presents our food which is a welcomed distraction from he silence At least this way there is a reason for the silence while we eat. This is ridiculous. I don't remember when I became such a weak and pathetic human being who couldn't just say what was on her mind; someone who was the reason for her own happiness and didn't need anyone else. Obviously I find it nice to have someone to be there for me at every moment possible, but when did I become this desperate to please everyone else other than myself? Not too long ago I would have been with anyone I pleased to be with, unable to care less what other people would think of it. If I want to be with a woman I sure as hell would have back in the day; so what changed? I don't even know, which is stupid. All of this is stupid. I'm the one who gets to choose who I want to be with; this means that if I don't want to be with someone I'll of course not be with them. Do I want to be with Hook? I hesitate in my mind to think of the answer. I really should take that as a sign and decide who I want to be with deep inside; who I want to have as my happy ending.

My thoughts are interrupted, not by Hook, but by the door to the dinner being slammed open. That woman definitely knows how to make an entrance. Regina Mills in all her glory walks majestically through the dinner right up to the booth in which I'm currently seated with my one handed pirate of a boyfriend. Regina doesn't say anything.

'Regina?' I'm genuinely surprised to see her here. Still no response from the queen. She pull me up by my collar and drags me out of the booth and pushes my against the wall near the booth. All of this happens so fast that I barely have time to react or even think. Regina presses her lips against mine while holding me pinned up against the wall. I can feel Hooks gazing at me; despite that her touch is too spellbinding for me to be able to reject her. Had we not been in such a public place with spectators I would have completely submitted myself to every single one of her hearts desires. Our lips break apart and she loosens her grip.

'I just wanted to thank your for last night.' Her smirk is devious, she then proceeds to let go of me and walk out of the dinner in a similar manner to which she had arrived. Hook looks completely surprised.

'What the hell was that Swan?!' I wish I knew; nothing inappropriate happened last night, we seriously just held each other tight. And why would Regina just walk in here and kiss me like this? I legit have no idea what happened to her promise not to tell anyone; this was definitely the opposite of not telling anyone.


	6. Answers

**A/N** Thank you for reading. Sorry about the long wait.

Chapter 6 - Answers

The day goes by extremely slow. I have a lot of work to do due to neglecting said word to be a hero and try and help. The fact that Emma has been neglecting her work even more isn't really helping. To ensure I get as much as possible done I decide to have a short lunch at the office; in reality I only have an Apple as I don't feel as if I have the time to leave the office. Actually getting work done is hard. My mind is too occupied thinking about Emma and how good it felt holding her all night. I also feel bad about the way I left her this morning. Literally nothing happened and we could just have pretended that I had slept in her guest room as had been the original plan when she wanted me to stay. I doubt that Snow and Charming would put anything into it anyway, they've moved past that. I feel foolish. I shouldn't have given in to Emma; I shouldn't have let her make me feel like this. Acceptance of how I felt was hard enough, accepting the likelihood of anything serious ever happening is even harder. These past days certainly haven't made it easier. However, this is just as much my own fault as well as Emma's. I could have, no should have, said no. Accepted it wasn't meant to be.

'What. The. Hell. Was that?!' Emma storms through my office door.

'What was what, Miss Swan?' I try to keep my calm, honestly I'm a bit confused about her anger. What is it that she thinks I did? Or is this her reaction for the way I left this morning? She seemed okay with it, well, at least not angry about it.

'Really? So you just forgot what you bloody did like 10 minutes ago?' She seems even more agitated.

'Really, Emma. I have no idea what you're talking about. I've been right in this office since 9 o'clock this morning. Use your superpower. Am I lying? Ask my assistant if you don't believe me.' I still do my best to remain calm, but it's slightly upsetting that she assumes I've done something I obviously couldn't possibly have done. Her expression changes as she realises that I clearly don't know what she's talking about.

'At Granny's. I was having lunch with Hook. You stormed through the front door, pulled me out of the booth, pushed me up against the wall and kissed me. Then you thanked me for last night.'

'What?' I say in disbelief. I'm genuinely confused.

'She looked just like you. Felt like you.' She seems almost disappointed that I don't know about the episode. 'But if she wasn't you, then who was she? We were careful last night, no one should know that you spent the night. Henry doesn't even know.'

'I don't know. I mean, the Queen is dead.'

'I know, I was there with you when she died after all. But, what if she didn't die?'

'I crushed her heart. I don't see how that didn't kill her.

'I can't answer that either. It's the only possible explanation though, unless someone transformed themselves into you?'

'But why, though? No one knows how I feel about you, except for you and me.' Right? It really does

Start to seem plausible that the Queen didn't die, it sure would explain how someone other than me or Zelena could open my vault. Also casting a spell around Storybrooke is something that the Queen would do. The Queen would also be the only other person knowing my true feelings for Emma.

'Emma, I think you're right.' I sigh. 'We need to make sure if this really is the Queen that we find her and stop her before she's allowed to go through with whatever she's up to.'

'Yeah, we need to let the others know.' Emma steps closer to me and looks almost nervous.

'What's wrong?'

'Hook. I mean, the Queen kissed me right in front of him and he wasn't happy.'

'Emma. If the Queen is in town I couldn't care less about his feeling getting hurt. Besides, if you explain to him that it was her and not me, I'm sure he'll forgive you. If he really do trust and love you that is.' I'm back in my professional business mode. I need to distance myself from getting to personal with her right now.

'I tried talking to him. Explaining to him that nothing have happened between us last night. He didn't believe me.' I have a hard time reading her face, and can't tell if she's sad or relieved.

'Emma, I'm sorry.' Partially true. She doesn't say anything but walks the rest of the way and embraces me, burying her face in my neck. My instincts tell me to push her away to prevent me from getting hurt. Though, had the roles been reversed I would have appreciated having someone there holding me.

'I then told him that if he really doesn't trust me to always do the right thing and be honest to him, why should we be together.' She looks at me, anticipating a response. I don't give her one, I don't have one that's not, I told you so. 'I broke up with Hook.' Should I be happy? Should I sympathise with her? Oh Emma, I'm so sorry that you broke up with your boyfriend because he didn't trust you. I give her a last squeeze and then let go.

'I think you need some time to take a step back and review things. You broke up with Hook, good. Now consider what you want to do next, because this needs to stop. You know how I feel about you. I don't want to hurt you, just as I don't want to get hurt. So seriously, go through every option before you make your decision of what you want. I'll always be your friend, but I don't want to be your rebound because of a mistake you made. I could be a shoulder to cry on, but don't expect an extensive amount of sympathy, simply because you should know by now that I never thought being with the pirate was a good idea. I don't want you to come back to me before you're absolutely certain you know what you want, before you know what direction the next chapter of your story will take. I love you, Emma, but for my own sake I cannot allow you to use me anymore.' I don't mean to lecture her, but my fear of getting hurt has taken over. I don't want to risk losing her; however, I can't keep doing this teasing thing, it's too mentally draining.

'You're right. I haven't been very fair to you. I'm sorry.' She really does appear genuinely sorry.

'Just promise me you'll think things through before you do anything else.'

'I promise, Regina.'

'What did you do that for?' I'm surprised the the sudden appearance of my evil half.

'I thought I destroyed you.'

'Ha, please. You clearly failed. But seriously though, she was right there for the taking.'

'That's not how a want her.'

'Fine, because you're not getting her now. You allowed her time to think, not a smart move. We both know how much you really want her.'

'Go away!'

'Oh Regina, I could do that, or I could stay here and help you get naked with the saviour.'

'I don't need your help.'

'Right, because you have been doing so well without it.' She rolls her eyes at me. I can't believe she's really here, that she's alive and I have no control over her.

'I'll be fine! Wait, you were the one who broke into my vault!'

'Yeah... and you almost caught me. Almost.'

'You caused me to faint.'

'Yup, that would have been me. And it got you into bed with Emma. So obviously you've been doing fine on your own.'

'What do you want?'

'The same thing you do,' is this really how other people used to see me? 'I want you to get your happy ending of course!'

'This is not how I want things!'

'That may be, but this is how it is.' She has a sarcastic sorry not sorry expression when she says this. I imagine this is what it's like having a twin who's pretty much the exact opposite of the person you're trying to be; yet I still know exactly what she thinks and feels. The truth is even without her I'm still a lot alike her; the only difference is just that I choose not to act on those devious thoughts.

'Fine, if I can't kill you, I'll just have to find another way to get rid of you such that you'll stop ruining my life any more than you already have. I need you to tell Emma that you were the one who kissed her in the diner, she deserves to know that for certain.'

'No she doesn't. She doesn't really deserve you either, but if you want her, then I'll help you get her.

'What that's supposed to mean? Oh and you're really not helping.'

'She hasn't been that nice to you lately. Especially with her taking advantage of your feelings for her.' This starts to seem more and more like I have an angel and a devil on my shoulders trying to make me decide something.

'I let her do that.' It's the truth and I don't have to explain myself to the Queen.

'Which was pathetic, but nonetheless, desperate times, desperate measures. At least now she knows what it's like sleeping in your arms; kissing your lips.' The Queen winks at me as she's licking her own lips. I take a deep breath to try and keep a lid on the anger that's boiling up inside me. Although, no matter how much I wish I could, I can't say the Queen is wrong. I know she's right. I'm having a fight with myself where I have little to no chance of winning. I know myself too well to know there's no point arguing, obviously she knows the exact same thing.

'So what do you want me to do?' Can't believe I'm seriously asking my Evil half this.

'You could always just kill him, to be fair, you really should have done that a long time ago.'

'How is killing Captain Guyliner going to do me any good? Do you actually think that Emma will be alright with me doing that?' I really should come up with a plan to get rid of her for good this time, but honestly, right now she's the one who understands my deepest and most personal thoughts the best.

'Well... she probably wouldn't. I'll do it for you if you want.'

'No. The pirate lives. For now. I can't do anything like that to risk losing Emma for good. Even if you do it and she finds out that I allowed you to kill him, she would hate me.' The captain annoys me anyway and I couldn't care less if he lives or dies, but I know that Emma cares. She thinks she does anyway.

'Fine, have it your way. But don't come crying to me when she decides to go back to him. I gave you a chance to be with her and you're choosing to give her time to think. I see your point though. I wouldn't want someone either if they're only with me to rebound from their asshole ex-boyfriend.'

'Finally something we agree on.'

'Oh darling, I'm sure there's a lot more than that which we both agree upon. I think that you, just like Emma needs some time to think things through then. You don't have much time though, you'll probably need to make up your mind before she decides to give Guyliner another try.' It pains me to have this conversation with her. Not because she's mainly right, but because I surprisingly miss her being a physical part of me. Whether I'd like admitting it or not, the queen is the reason for me being where I am today. She got me Henry; and she could possibly get me Emma. However, I'm done with her games. I'll only truly be with her if she decides that I'm the one she wants to share her happy ending with. She needs to pick me over him for good.

'I'll think about it.' I'm not even angry anymore.

'Good, that's all I'm asking. I'll be seeing you around, Regina.' And with that she disappears in a veil of purple smoke just as she had appeared earlier.


End file.
